Gol darn gone & done it......again

I know, I was just really into the groove of blogging this spring. Then summer hit, and I quit. Well, I didn't really quit blogging, I just ran out of time in the day to blog on a regular basis.
So......In a nutshell in the last month we have
Hauled Pigs
Fed Calves, tied up calves, washed calves, and worked with the show calves on a daily basis.
Rode horses and ponies
Played with the goats
Harvested 2 more chickens
Harvested 2 beef
Made LOTS of hay 55 hauled home, 78 in one field & still more in another field
NOT registered for school today


Things that are on my list to do.....

There are tons, but the one that I really want to blog about is tanning hides.
I saved the hide from the last beef that was harvested. It's been salted, and now needs to be processed or tanned. We didn't save the brain, so I think that I'm going to use Alum to tan the hide.

Well, I'm off to bed, so I can be out and about at 5am.
Night Y'all

My SECRET, and The Rooster

Chicken!!! Yes, I am! I am a quite conflicted "Green Mama" You see, I must confess something, a BIG something in my life and my line of work......

I don't do dead things, and I have never intentionally, personally killed anything.
WHAT, YOU?? Yes, Me. Momma, Rancher, Meat Eater, Hunting Wife, Avid Shooter, Natural Girl, horse lover, cow hugger, Animal Welfare Fighter. Yes all of those me's.

Tomarrow, we are going to have Rooster Noodle Soup. Yep, we did it, we took care of our MEAN rooster. That thing has chased J, and spurred her. He has chased me around the barn (I defended myself with the hose, and he didn't learn). He chased Beau, and met the shovel, and didn't learn. And, he has been mean to 7-Up. So, today he is no more.

It was particularily disturbing. You see, chickens are like snakes (STOP READING IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH) they keep moving after they are no longer living. I have been on many hunting and trapping trips and talked to many who have harvested chickens, and I was still not prepared for this.

Beau took the 410 (rifle- OK Had to edit this! I know, I can't type. A 410 is a shotgun. The smallest shotgun that they make, but none the less a shotgun. Please accept my apologies for the original typo) out to the barn this morning, (we had a babysitter so we could work all day) and made a perfect head shot. It kept running around (I know, y'all told me it would, but EWWWWWWWWW!) I kept hollering at him to "shoot it again" (cause it JUST wasn't right), and he said I shot it and it has NO head. I hollered again, and he asked if I wanted anything left. So, I just turned around and didn't watch. Please keep in mind, this whole process took less than 60 seconds, shoot to him bringing me the bird, and Beau did take off the head with a perfect shot. Beau was even kind enough to do all of the plucking and cleaning all by himself. I did have to hold a leg while he cleaned (but my head was turned away).

So now you know my secret. I will even tell you that when Beau and I met, I held the philosopy that "I will not eat 'anyone' I have met". I wouldn't feed the beef steers and I wouldn't participate in the hunting process until everything was skinned. Remember, "I don't do dead things".

But, I love my life. I live on a ranch, and "dead things happen" and someone (sometimes me) has to take care of them (But, I don't have to like it). And I now figure, that if I take care of our food as best as I possibly can, then I have done right by the animal.

I am a HUGE (H.U.G.E) animal WELFARE person, and I do not tolerate any mean-ness or too much aggression to ANY animal (mine or otherwise). But, there is a difference between animal welfare and animal rights. (Maybe, I will blog about this whole topic another day)

So, my secret is out and I feel better. And, I will enjoy some goooooddd soup tomarrow night, and I enjoyed my beef tonight (one of our own grass fed steers). Now, I hope some of you might share one of your secrets....

Short Post - Chickens and frozen eggs

HI, this one's pretty short for me but here it goes, speed blogging!
Chickens have settled in, and have continued laying. The tricky part is getting the eggs BEFORE they freeze solid. We've managed to get 1 in the house so far, but you've got to remember that our high for the past 3 days was yesterday's 10 above. The windchills have been anywhere from 20 to 40 BELOW zero.

Speaking of cold, we had a calf jump in the water tank on Sunday. We tried to warm him up but were unsuccessful. We tried, but it still sucks to loose one.

The cows and horses are doing well in this icy tundra. The mares haven't come up to eat any hay. They enjoy digging and foraging, or they must, because there is good hay for them up by the barn.

Well, off to go shopping and see santa. My sister's going to watch the munchkins while I finish up with the stocking stuffers.

Merry Christmas!!!

Chickens!!! and Ice Storm

Chickens!! Yes, I said chickens. WE are getting some laying hens this weekend. I say "WE" Lichtly. Meaning that we as a family are getting them, but I will be caring for them. Beau wants nothing to do with them. I know that the first time one of 'em poops on a tool aro piece of tack, it will be the end of tolerance.

Anyway, I'm really excited!! I have wanted chickens since I knew we were getting this farm in April. For now they are going to go in the dog kennel in the barn. I have to get one of the books on making a coop that I've been eyeing online. That or I'll have to ask someone like Sugar Creek that I know from DMCD. (I haven't been to a meeting in months and I'm a lurker in the yahoo group.)

Ice Storm - Yes, it hit us. This morning I couldn't hardly walk to the barn. The entire road is a sheet of ice!! Don't know how myLove made it to town to go to work in one piece... School was cancelled, so I didn't have to wory about the girls riding the bus to school.

All of you ranch wives out there remember the days of choring with the kids. Well, Squeak is too tiny to come outside yet, so I waited until morning nap time, and had the girls play upstairs and listen for him. I ran (SKATED) to the barn and chored the calves and colts. Enjoying the quiet and work. I know it sounds crazy, but I do enjoy it. If I didn't have a barn and chores to do, I would BE crazy!!

While checking the colts, I noticed that 7-up was on 3 legs..... 7-up is our Shetland pony. I cleaned out his feet, felt his hock and hip (very hard to do under all that fur) and nothing notable. HMMMMM, don't know but he is still running on 3 legs. Yes, he can run when he didn't want to get caught. I moved him from the stud pen to with the colts, and gave him a little grain. I hope it is just a stone bruise from the hard ground, but I don't think so.

The calves are all eating at the bunk good and starting to grow. They didn't seem to be affected by all the ice and weather at all!

Then there is the "baby" pen. Most Ranch/Farm wives I know have "their" cow or horse. This animal is usually the bain of their husband. "MY" cow is Lacey. She is the first cow we bought as a couple. Lacey is truly my baby. "53" is in this pen too. She is MyLove's show cow from his senior year in High School. She hates me! Anyway, Lacey is impatient! Today, I made the mistake of feeding the calves first. Lacey was MAD!! Most people say that cows "MOOOOO" well they have other words too. Today it was "eeerrrEEEERRRR" (hard to describe in letters) but she was saying "FEEEEEDDDDD MEEEEEEE" FEEEDDD MEEEE NOOW!!! She bellerd at me the entire time I was filling buckets, and feeding calves. I finally walked in her pen, and she was in my back pocket on the walk to the bunk. She also takes up more than her share of the space at the bunk. Her calf is learning to be just like her. BTW, she is in a pen because one of the girls will get to show her calf this summer and we want to teach it to lead.

Well, that's my wierd rambling for the day. You can blame it on the ice and snow today. Now, we're going to start baking cookies to decorate this afternoon!!! Yeah girls!!! And, we put up the tree last night.